Snack food and glass-front vending machines today are typically secured with a mechanism comprising of a slide-bar and hooks or the like in the door, which generally extend into the cabinet frame when locked, the motion going from unlocked to locked is typically controlled by a rotatable exterior mounted handle controlled by a mechanical T-handle mechanism, see Minemura U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,247. The handle is prevented from rotating by a mechanical core lock. For example, a slide-bar configuration consisting of one or more bars that is in a retracted position while the door is open and as the door is being closed. Once the door is in the closed position, the operator takes the handle and rotates it typically 90 or 180 degrees (depending on the geometry of the hooks) and the hooks will extend into the catches in the cabinet. To unlock, first the access control device is accessed, the slide-bar and the hooks are moved retracted from the catches, and last the handle is pulled so the door will open. These methods are typically cumbersome and time consuming. In addition, an enclosure as described above will typically have an unattractive looking handle and dial or keypad lock mounted to the exterior of the door.
The object of this invention is to improve on the methods, operation, and the interface of the vending machine locking and the unlocking as described above. In addition, the removal of certain components from the outside of the enclosure door will add to the improvements mentioned by providing enhanced security due to a more difficult point of attack and also provide additional exterior surface area to add decorative features to the vending machine door.
This invention is not limited to any particular type, style or application of the enclosure. In addition, although the preferred embodiment of the invention will describe a door with slide bar and hook mechanism interfacing to catches in the cabinet of the enclosure, this invention will also support the opposite arrangement such as a slide bar and hook mechanism in a cabinet that interface into catches in the doorframe, as well as many other types of door, cabinet, and mechanism arrangements as are available. This invention will also support the opposite mechanism arrangement such as (for example) a motor controlling a slide bar consisting of catches (instead of hooks) which would latch and un-latch into one or more hooks (instead of catches). A cable or rod may be used to interface the lock mechanism to the slide bar. In the case of a rod being used it can also be modified to act as the latch itself.